Obama in Austin!

I went to the Barack Obama rally here in Austin today, along with 20,000 or so other folks. It was a terrific event--the opening bands kept us entertained while waiting in the drizzle for Obama to appear. Especially good was Cyril Nevil, a roots-funk band from New Orleans with a lot of powerful songs.

Obama's speech itself was excellent, made us all forget about the weather and focus on how great it would be if somebody could actually get to the White House who'd be willing to set a new, positive tone for this country.

Here's one of the best lines from the speech, on the subject of Dick Cheney:

"Now, keep in mind, this is the same guy that said we'd be greeted as liberators, the same guy that said that we're in the last throes. I'm sure he forecast sun today," Obama said to laughter from supporters holding campaign signs over their heads to keep dry. "When Dick Cheney says it's a good thing, you know that you've probably got some big problems."

What I love about this is that it comes at a time when other politicians and pundits are *reacting* to Cheney's attacks, rather than attacking him directly (or, more accurately, dismissing him as incompetent and moving on). Josh Marshall writes about the GOP bitch-slap theory of politics:

The point of the whole exercise is not the underlying issue of Pelosi but what the exchange is supposed to demonstrate about both players -- that Cheney is strong (he hits) and Pelosi is weak (she complains when attacked.)

Obama didn't react to Cheney's insults, attacks and smears, he simply pointed out that Cheney has been consistently wrong about pretty much everything he ever said, and moved on.

Obama got a big crowd excited about making a difference, and everything there seemed to have a great time. My camera phone is shitty quality, but I took pictures.

Haven't found anything on Youtube or Google Video, but a local news station has video of the speech.

That's about it. I will end with a headline that writes its own punchline.

Jeff